Breaking news: Andre Agassi explains the reason behind the recent embarrassment he gave Steffi Graff in Romania.
In a recent exhibition match in Romania, tennis superstar Andre Agassi was forced to choose between two different sports when he and Steffi Graf faced Andrei Pavel and Simona Halep. In a recent honest interview, Agassi recounted playing a lot of pickleball before an exhibition tennis match and explained why it made him feel uncomfortable when he faced Halep.
In Romania, Steffi and I played against Andrei Pavel and Simona. “I know I’m baiting her to pull it, right?” Agassi recounts. “In tennis, I was sort of on the right side, you know the deuce side of the court, and she was on the left side, or ad court. So like she runs around a ball and she has a forehand.
The lack of topspin is one of the main distinctions between pickleball and tennis. In the weeks before the match, Agassi had been used to the fact that pickleball strokes are often flatter and need less wrist movement. However, rolling the wrist to create topspin is crucial in tennis, particularly at the top level, in order to bring the ball down in time.
Instead of making the topspin-heavy return he had planned, Agassi ended up sending a flat shot directly at Halep’s feet due to his modified pickleball technique.
Agassi said, “And I know she’s going to do it.” She buryed one on me, but I’m on it. I tried to roll it back to her feet by sticking my racquet out. I read the entire play, and the only thing I misunderstood was the basic idea of rotating the wrist to execute a perfect shot.
I turned to face her, and she turned to face me, asking, ‘What were you trying to do?’ “There was just too much for me to explain here,” Agassi laughs.
After an exhilarating first-round triumph, Andre Agassi, who competed at the US Open Pickleball Championships alongside Anna Leigh, lost in the second round.
